I’ve developed this sixth sense when watching movies and TV shows to spot baseball references in the background or to pick up on them in lines of dialogue. There are times when the hair on the back of my next stands up to hear a reference to the Dodgers or Babe Ruth when it’s not expected. I’m also always scanning… View Post
Over the years, I’ve developed an eye for references to or images of baseball in other aspects of pop culture. More than just Andy Warhol’s baseball paintings or the wallpaper in a scene from Seinfeld, something in my brain will register at just a hint of a nod to the national pastime. This ability kicked in recently when I was… View Post
Heritage Auctions has a great piece of New Jersey history available in its current auction: A press ticket to a Diamond Gloves boxing tournament at Paterson’s Hinchliffe Stadium signed by Babe Ruth. Ruth was the guest of honor at the event on July 1, 1946, two years before his death. Then 51, the Sultan of Swat was still a huge… View Post
NOTE: Originally posted on April 1, 2010, this analysis is now updated yearly to show the latest accurate numbers. This all began in 2010, after I posted the Sports Illustrated baseball preview cover on Facebook. My friend Brad left this comment: One of my first SI issues was the 1987 baseball preview issue, with Cory Snyder and the Indians on… View Post
With today being Jackie Robinson Day for Major League Baseball — albeit a virtual one in these quarantine times — I was curious if the trailblazing Hall of Famer and civil rights activist ever crossed paths with a different American hero from another of my main interests: Father Theodore Hesburgh of Notre Dame. Father Hesburgh was president of the university… View Post